


Intimidating Enough

by homesickness



Series: The drabbles [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Shy Harry, larry drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-10 00:38:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4370459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homesickness/pseuds/homesickness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is in a bad mood at work while Louis has concert tickets and a question for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intimidating Enough

 

Harry has always felt a bit intimidated by Louis. Most days it’s in a way that makes his heart race, and during a few he just feels almost helpless around him. It’s obvious from previous occasions that Louis loves to see him flustered and speechless and with nowhere to look but the floor, and Harry would probably be avoiding him if the situation was any different, but he still has to walk into work every other day and face it.

It’s a mystery to Harry how Louis’ managed to keep this job though. He’s always messing around, causing ruckus, wasting products and he’s not very good at the actual work that they’re supposed to do. In fact, Harry often covers for all of his mistakes before anyone can notice them and then manages to screw it up for himself instead. Actually, he doesn’t know how he’s managed to keep the job himself with all the trouble he’s been caught in.

“Day-dreaming again, Styles?” Louis asks him and Harry turns his head around to look at him. It’s the last shift before he gets the weekend off and he’s barely said two words to Louis that didn’t have anything to do with a customer, but now Louis’ staring at him, smiling slightly, and he feels nervous again. “You stopped cleaning.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles and continues wiping the counter.

Harry’s had an awfully shitty morning at UNI and not even Louis’ smile cheered him up after class, and that’s saying something these days. In all honesty, he just wants to go home and enjoy that he managed to go one shift without embarrassing himself completely, all why watching some shit show to keep his mind away from the fact that he usually does.

“I’m gonna close up, okay?” Louis says, almost asking for acknowledgement. Harry just nods without looking at him and goes to the kitchen to get rid of the dirty rag, leaving Louis to lock up by himself.

Harry stays in there awhile, just leaning against one of the sinks and staring at the wall. Breathing in, out, in, out. He feels smaller somehow, more exposed and out in the open than he’s done before. The bad mood is definitely a reason behind it and it doesn’t help that he would probably cry if anyone asked him what’s wrong because he _doesn’t know_. All he’s certain off is that he needs a good night’s sleep after how heavy his chest has been all day.

He’s about to start finishing up in the backroom when he hears the machine go off up front and Louis fumbling with the cups, which is always a bad sign. Harry sighs and starts walking back out to see what he’s up to because there’s no way he missed a late customer coming in and Louis wouldn’t even go close to that machine otherwise.

“What are you doing?” he asks, baffled by Louis’ red cheeks, and sees how Louis’ struggling with the machine. “It’s a little bit late for coffee, don’t you think?”

“I’m not- it’s that caramel hot chocolate you like? I don’t know, I’ve only seen you make it and I thought-.” He stops himself and takes a step back. “You seemed down so I thought you’d like it.”

“Oh,” Harry whispers and finds out that it’s his turn to blush. “That’s sweet, I guess.” Louis shakes his head and his fringe bounces against his forehead. It’s gotten a lot longer, Harry realizes, getting distracted enough to not notice how sad Louis looks.

“I’m shit at it though,” Louis laughs nervously and throws the paper cup in the trash. “You can just go home, I’ll clean up the rest.”

“I can show you if you want?” Harry suggests. He doesn’t know why he thinks it’s a good idea to ask, because he wants to go at least one day without regretting something he did at work, but he does anyway and Louis’ face lights up like Christmas.

“It probably wouldn’t be much help,” he admits and turns so he’s standing directly in front of Harry instead. “Look, I really just wanted to maybe ask if you wanted to hang out sometime?”

“Like…” Harry frowns and rolls his lips into his mouth once so they’ll feel less dry. It makes Louis look down at them briefly before he meets Harry’s eyes again. “Like friends or?”

“No,” Louis starts off with immediately. “I kind of thought we had a little thing going and I have tickets to this concert next weekend if you’re not busy?”

Harry stays quiet, barely breathing, and just lets his mouth fall open slightly. He’s not prepared for this conversation and he doesn’t know how to answer to make it less awkward. And at the same time he likes this kind of awkward because Louis is a little less scary to talk to when he’s biting his lip and looking shy.

“Sure, yeah,” he finally tells him and smiles. “I’d love that.”

“Oh thank god, I’ve been trying to hint at it all week but you didn’t seem to notice and I thought maybe you weren’t interested or something,” Louis rushes and giggles, which Harry finds all too endearing. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

“You too, or like, handsome and stuff,” Harry mumbles, unsure of where the limit goes. Telling him about his late night fantasies might be a bit weird.

Louis gets closer and gives him a hesitant hug with his arms around Harry’s neck, burring his face in Harry’s collar bones. He then places a swift kiss on Harry’s cheek, lingering there for a moment, and takes a small step back. All Harry can do is stay frozen from the embrace.

“You really should get home though, you look really tired,” Louis tells him and tries to look a little bit more pulled together than before.

“Yeah, okay. That sounds good. I’ll see you Monday then?”

“Of course. I need someone here to do my work.”

Harry laughs out loud and for once Louis feels a little bit less intimidating.


End file.
